Enrollment Standards

Financial aid programs have different enrollment requirements. The information below applies specifically to determining financial aid eligibility and cost of attendance for financial aid purposes. Enrollment standards for billing purposes or other departments within the University may differ.

Below are the
credit hours which determine whether a student is less than half-time, half-time,
three-quarters time, or full-time.

Graduate Students

Enrollment Requirements for Specific Aid Programs

Aid programs have their own enrollment requirements which must be met before the
aid can disburse.

Aid Programs That Require Full-Time Enrollment

Institutional Scholarships.

Note: there may be an exception if the student is in their last semester/graduating
and enrolled at least half-time. Some institutional scholarships
awarded by the college/department for graduate students will disburse
at reduced hours (such as three credits).

Mountaineer Connection Grant

West Virginia Higher Education Grant

West Virginia PROMISE Scholarship.
Note: there may be an exception if the student is in their last two semesters of
eligibility.

Federal Aid-Eligible Courses

There are federal regulations regarding the courses a student takes and federal
aid eligibility. To be eligible for Title IV federal aid, count toward enrollment
requirements for aid eligibility, and be included in the cost of attendance (budget)
for financial aid:

Courses must be required for the student's degree completion. Courses for
elective minors or concentrations may not be included.

Courses must meet
repeat coursework standards. Previously passed courses may only be
repeated one time and be considered a "federal aid-eligible" course.

Courses not required for degree completion cannot be used in calculating the
cost of attendance (budget) for financial aid purposes. As such, students
may also see reduced aid due to the reduced cost of attendance.

These requirements apply to all federal and West Virginia state aid programs,
such as:

**Programs marked with ** above require full-time enrollment to disburse, but do
not require that enrollment to be in federal aid-eligible courses. For
institutional scholarships, there may be an exception if the student is in their last semester/graduating
and enrolled at least half-time. Some institutional scholarships awarded
by the college/department for graduate students will disburse at reduced
hours (such as three credits).

Repeated Coursework

Previously passed courses may only be repeated one time and continue to be included
in determining enrollment status (full-time, half-time, etc) for financial aid
eligibility. As such, students repeating previously passed courses for a
second time may experience reduced eligibility for financial aid.

Student takes English 101 and earns a “D” = Financial aid disburses for this
course (as long as the student is meeting all aid eligibility requirements).

Student takes English 101 again and earns an “F” = Financial aid disburses for
this course (as long as the student is meeting all aid eligibility requirements).

Student takes English 101 again = Since this is the second time the student has
repeated this course after receiving a passing grade in the course, the
student’s financial aid may be impacted because this course is no longer considered
an “aid-eligible” course.

Example 2:

Student takes Psychology 101 and earns an “F” = Financial aid disburses for this
course (as long as the student is meeting all aid eligibility requirements).

Student takes Psychology 101 again and earns a “D” = Financial aid disburses
for this course (as long as the student is meeting all aid eligibility requirements).

Student takes Psychology 101 again and earns a “D” = Financial aid disburses
for this course (as long as the student is meeting all aid eligibility requirements).

Student takes Psychology 101 again = Since this is the second time the student
has repeated this course after receiving a passing grade in the course,
the student’s financial aid may be impacted because this course is no longer
considered an “aid-eligible” course.